1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to folding furniture and in particular to a table that can be folded upon itself, reducing the table height, for convenience in transport and storage.
2. Prior Art
Furniture items have long been constructed to be capable of being folded or collapsed upon themselves for storage and transport and are easily erected for use. Tables are no exception and a number have been constructed with pivoting members to be easily erected, with an example of such collapsible item being a card table, where the four legs are each pivot mounted to a table corner to be lowered and locked into place, erecting the table. Similarly, a number of tables have been manufactured to included pivotally mounted pairs of legs arranged at opposite ends of a flat table top to be pivoted apart into an erected attitude and including center braces that are folded out, or otherwise erected, to extend between a table undersurface and a lower portion of each of the pairs of legs. Like such earlier arrangements, the collapsible table of the invention includes two pairs of legs that are pivotally mounted to opposite ends of the under-surfaces of a table top, each pair to pivot outwardly to a right angle to that table top during erection. Unlike such earlier collapsible tables, however, the invention does not require center support struts, or the like.
The table of the invention is a table with a bench seat combination, commonly known as a picnic table. It is preferably small in size, is manufactured from durable light weight material, such as a plastic by molding methods, and is suitable for use by a child. The table, in addition to folding end legs, includes a combination bench assembly with side rail assembly that is to fit to the erected legs by sliding tabs formed in the side rails, behind the ends of side sections that extend across and project from the individual legs of each pair of legs. The table of the invention does not require an installation of separate connections for the table to be maintained in an erected attitude. Whereas, collapsing of the table requires only a lifting of the bench assembly side rail tabs off from the ends of the pair of leg sides and moving the bench assembly upwardly to the plane of the table. Thereafter, the pairs of legs are folded upwardly into engagement with the table top bottom surface. The table thereby presents a minimum height dimension and is convenient for storage and transport.
Like the invention, a number of earlier tables have provided pairs of legs where each pair is pivotally mounted to an opposite table top end and including benches, and examples of such earlier arrangements are shown in to Holick, U.S. Pat. No. 2,690,210; to Beller, U.S. Pat. No. 2,748,837; to Mayol, U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,658; to Hansen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,275; to Van Kuren, U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,652; to Jones, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,307; and to Wallace, U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,314. None of these U.S. Patents, however, include an easily releasable coupling tab arrangement like the invention for maintaining and supporting the bench assembly, at its side supports, to a crossing side of each of the pair of legs, maintaining the erected legs without a requirement for leg braces as are required by each of the cited patents.
Like the invention, to Aja, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 2,583,247, and Fischhaber, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,574, show tables that each include a combination of table top whereto is pivot mounted pairs of table legs that are maintained by separate connectors to bench assembly side rails. The connection arrangements of both these patents, however, involve separate fasteners that are individually fitted or connected through the bench assembly side rails and into or through the pairs of legs to maintain the table in an erected state. Distinct therefrom, the invention provides a mounting of the bench assembly side rails to the pairs of legs without a use of separate connectors. The connection of which table sections of the invention requires only a lowering of the bench assembly from its stowed or recessed attitude, where it aligns with the table top, to moving tabs of the bench assembly side rails over ends of each of the pair of legs cross braces, completing the table erection. Further, unlike earlier collaspsible table arrangements, breakdown or collapse of the table of the invention involves only a lifting of the bench assembly away from the pairs of legs cross braces, pulling the tabs off from the cross braces ends and lifting of the bench assembly to its stowed position alongside the table top. Whereafter the pairs of legs are pivoted into engagement with the table top undersurface.